U.K.'s Third-Largest Steelworks Falls Under Government Control

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K. government has been forced to step in to secure the future of the country's third largest steelmaker, Specialty Steel U.K. (SSUK), which employs almost 1,500 workers in Rotherham and Sheffield.

The move comes after insolvency courts granted a compulsory winding-up order sought by creditors. SSUK is part of the global metals giant Liberty Steel, whose parent company GFG Alliance (London, England) is owned by controversial tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. It is the third-largest steelmaker in the U.K. after Tata Steel U.K. (London, England) and British Steel Limited (BSL) (Scunthorpe, England) - both of which have had to rely on major government bailouts and intervention to survive over the past year. In its decision, the insolvency court found that the company should enter compulsory liquidation as it was "hopelessly insolvent," with debts of several hundred million pounds but only £650,000 (US$876,000) in its bank account. Government-appointed special managers were appointed to work with Liberty to take control of the plants and ensure staff were paid. The U.K.'s Department for Business and Trade said it has received approaches from "independent third parties who have expressed an interest in returning some or all of the sites to steelmaking".

Liberty Steel rejected the court's decision: "The decision to push Speciality Steel U.K. into compulsory liquidation, especially when we have support from the world's largest asset manager to resume operations and facilitate creditor recovery is irrational. Instead, liquidation will now impose prolonged uncertainty and significant costs on U.K. taxpayers for settlements and related expenses, despite the availability of a commercial solution. GFG will now continue to advance its bid for the business in collaboration with prospective debt and equity partners and will present its plan to the official receiver."

The company across its key sites makes a wide range of specialty steel, including narrow strip steel, engineering bar, steel & bar - both primary and secondary electric-arc steelmaking - vacuum degassing, ingot casting, continuous casting, bar and coil rolling, and bar processing and inspection.

Government intervention was welcomed by U.K. Steel, the trade association for the country's steel industry. "U.K. Steel welcomes the Government's recognition of the importance of the Liberty Speciality Steel assets and hopes that a new owner is found quickly and can inject the investment and working capital required to return production volumes to previous levels," said U.K. Steel Director General, Gareth Stace. "The assets produce high quality, specialist steels that serve high value markets. The low production levels of recent years have left significant holes in the domestic supply chain that have been filled by imports. We hope to see these holes quickly filled by UK-made steel."

The U.K.'s steel sector has suffered major setbacks in recent years. In 2023, Tata Steel U.K. received a £500 million (US$672 million) rescue package from the U.K. government after protracted negotiations. Industrial Info is tracking a £1.25 billion (US$1.7 billion) project to transform the U.K.'s largest steelworks, Port Talbot, into a green steel operation thatTata claims will reduce the site's carbon emissions by about 90%. Tata will move ahead with the closure of two blast furnaces at the site where the company employs 4,000 people. Around 2,800 jobs will be lost in the transition. Industrial Info is tracking five Port Talbot projects worth more than US$2 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. For additional information, see September 20, 2023, article - Tata Steel U.K. Gets $620 Million Rescue Package.

In April the government enacted emergency powers to take control of Chinese-owned British Steel Limited (BSL), the country's second-biggest steelmaker. Claiming that owner Jingye Steel was planning to shut the steelworks, the government rushed through legislation to take control of the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe. That move came after the collapse of talks with Jingye to continue steel operations with the help of a £500 million (US$646 million) rescue package to overhaul and modernize the operations. For additional information, see July 29, 2025, article--Work Begins on Port Talbot Green Steel Project.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).